Raiders and Ruin
by zac'sgirl27
Summary: Sequel to Robbers and Romance. Just when Troy and Gabriella think they can settle down, adventure is thrown their way. Together they battle more trials, but know they can do it with the love they have for each other. I stink at summaries please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

Gabriella smiled as she watched out the window of the airplane. She and Troy were finally returning from their blissful honeymoon in California. Now they were about to land in the Delta Airline Airport in Washington DC. It was the closest airport to CIA headquarters, and their new home.

Gabriella sighed as her mind wandered to all that had happened to her in the last year. First, she had been a main target for one of the country's top criminals. Then she was thrown into a whirl wind of jewel thieves and mystery by trying to find the world's largest ruby cave. And not to mention she had been shot at, kidnapped, chased and many other things multiple times. But there was a positive thing on the whole thing. She was married to Troy. And that in itself made everything else worthwhile. Gabriella wouldn't have it any other way.

Gabriella felt a warm hand on hers, pulling her out of her thoughts. She looked turned her head to see Troy smiling softly at her. She smiled back. Then a voice came over the intercom.

"Thank you for flying with us today. Please exit quickly and safely." Troy stood up, bringing Gabriella with him, holding her hand tight, and led the way out of the plane. They ended up being the last ones to start exiting the plane, due to Troy's gentlemanly ways.

Troy and Gabriella walked out of the plane and towards the airport entrance. They had just stepped into the airport when it happened. All Gabriella knew was that a huge explosion had went off behind her and Troy, and that Troy held on tight to her as they were rocketed forward by the force of the explosion. They both landed on the ground, with debris lying all around them. Gabriella and Troy looked behind them to see that the plane they had just been on had been completely destroyed, along with the part of the airport wall. _That could have been us, _Gabriella thought to herself.

Troy helped her up and they brushed off each other, and then decided that they would leave all the chaos. They squeezed through the crowd unnoticed and walked toward the luggage pick-up. Thankfully, their luggage had been taken off before they had left the plane. Troy found their things, and grabbed the three suitcases they had. Then they made their way slowly toward the front of the airport.

When they got there, three people were waiting for them, Tyler Williams, Alex Brown and Sam Keller. Tyler was six feet tall, with blonde hair, brown eyes and an award winning smile. He was always happy and full of energy and never said anything offensive. You always felt like you were important when you were with him. Alex was about the same height, expect with dark brown hair and hazel eyes. He was the more soft spoken of the threesome. He always tried to make it so everyone had what they wanted, not caring about himself. Alex was also the smarter one of the three. Although you wouldn't think it, he seemed to always know everything. The last of the trio was Sam. And he seemed to be a totally different person in himself. He was a shorter then the other two, but had a very athletic body. He had sandy blonde hair with mystifying blue eyes. He wasn't afraid of anything, and was always quick to respond on an assignment. Gabriella's favorite thing about him was that he was fun to tease, because he would just tease you right back. Sam was the kind of person you get to know, and then can't really live without.

As Tyler, Alex and Sam all smiled at Troy and Gabriella as they walked up to them, Gabriella couldn't help but love these brother-like men more.

"Hey Gabi, Troy, how was the honeymoon?" Tyler said shaking Troy's hand and giving Gabriella a big bear hug.

"It was amazing! I wish we were still there." Gabriella said, now giving Alex a hug.

"Did you guys hear that boom a while back? I though a bomb had exploded." Sam said waiting for his hug from Gabriella. Gabriella smiled, and hugged him tight, listening to Troy's explanation of what had happened.

"If we had been on that plane any longer, we wouldn't be here right now." Troy said as they loaded his and Gabriella's things into the car.

"Well, we're sure glad you guys aren't known for dawdling while you walk." Alex said while getting into the driver's seat. He started the car and started driving. For the remainder of the drive, Troy and Gabriella talked about their honeymoon.

About an hour later they reached Troy and Gabriella's new home. (Troy had bought one before their honeymoon). As they were unloaded the luggage, Tyler's cell phone rang and left so he could talk in silence. Alex and Sam helped put things in the house and waited for Tyler to finish his call. They didn't have to wait long. Tyler came in with a serious look on his face.

"We need to get back to the office." He said pointing to Alex and Sam. Gabriella and Troy walked them to the door.

"Thank you so much for picking us up. It was nice to see you guys again." Gabriella said waving to them. Troy put his arm around Gabriella as they waved good bye. Troy closed the door as Gabriella walked to the kitchen, admiring all the decorating. Troy followed her.

"Well, I guess I better break it in now. Besides, I'm hungry." Gabriella said. And with that she started working on dinner preparations. Troy smiled at his wife, glad to see she was so eager to run her own house. He walked to the living room and turned on the TV to a basketball game.

At 8:00 Troy was just finishing up the dishes, while Gabriella was in the shower, when the phone started to ring. Troy picked it up of the receiver.

"Hello?" He said into the phone.

"Hey Troy, its Tyler." Troy held the phone up against his ear with his shoulder so he could keep washing dishes as he talked.

"Oh hey man, what's up?" Troy said, rinsing off a plate.

"Crime, that's what's up. Listen Troy, we have a new assignment. Monte Malzahn has escaped from prison." Tyler said in a serious tone.

"You mean that crazy guy who wants to take over the world?" Troy asked, washing a pot in the sink.

"Yeah, he's out. And we've got to find them. Who knows what could happen if he stays out in the world long enough." Tyler said with a sigh. "We start on it tomorrow. The boss would have called you, but he didn't know when you were coming home."

Troy drained the water from the sink. "I understand, thanks for calling. I'll see you guys there tomorrow."

"Ok, later Troy."

Troy hung up the phone and sighed. This was the one problem with being a CIA agent. You always had something you were working on. Troy dried the dishes quickly and was putting the last dish away when Gabriella walked in with wet hair and pajamas on.

"Thanks for doing the dishes." She said walking over and giving him a quick kiss.

"Anything for my princess." Troy said smiling. But his smile vanished quickly as he wiped his hands with the towel. Gabriella noticed this.

"Troy, is there something the matter?" Gabriella asked, following him into their bedroom. Troy sighed as he lay down on the bed.

"I've got a new case." He said flatly. Gabriella stared at him. She knew he didn't like having to always have a case to work on. She walked over to him and sat on the bed with her legs crossed, looking down at him.

"Well, what's this one about?" she said, trying to seem positive.

"Monte Malzahn, ruler over the world wannabe, has escaped from prison. Tyler, Sam, Alex and I have to find him." Troy said shutting eyes tight.

"Well, that sounds……fascinating." Gabriella said not quite as enthusiastic as before. Troy rolled up onto his side and looked at her, taking her hand in his.

"No, it's not fascinating. I want to stay here with you." Troy said, pressing her palm against his cheek.

"Who says I won't be with you?" Gabriella said quickly. Troy sat up suddenly, making Gabriella jump.

"I'm not going to be putting you in any danger." Troy said a little too coolly. Gabriella glared at him.

"I've been with you through your last two cases. I'm not in any danger, as long as I'm with you." Gabriella said raising her voice and crossing her arms. Troy stood up in frustration.

"Gabriella, I'm not going to be putting you in harms way because of what I do. I don't know what I would do if anything happened to you. You attract trouble like a magnet, if you haven't noticed." Troy said, shouting this time. Gabriella flew off the bed to face him, angry tears starting to come.

"I did not marry you so I could stay home and wonder whether or not you're going to come home each night. Wherever you go, I go." Gabriella hollered back at him. Now Troy was fuming. Why wouldn't she listen to him?

"Gabriella, you will not go with me tomorrow and that's final." Troy bellowed. That was the last straw for Gabriella. She ran out of the room crying unmercifully. She pushed the front door open and ran into the night. She didn't know where she was going, as long as she wasn't where she had been.

Gabriella stopped at the end of the street, too drained to keep going. She collapsed on the curb and pulled her knees to her chest, crying into them. Over five minutes later, she wasn't crying quite as hard, and started to criticize herself for being so stupid. Why in the world had she done that? Troy just wanted her to be safe. He was just showing how much he cared for her. What might he be thinking now? A fresh wave of tears came on when Gabriella realized what she had done.

It had been 15 minutes since Gabriella had left the house, and Troy was starting to worry. He was pacing the living room floor, angry with himself. How could he have actually talked to her like that? He certainly wouldn't want to have to stay home by himself, worrying about Gabriella all day. Had he actually yelled at her? The look on her face when she ran out of the room was like a knife being driven into his heart. He had hurt her. And he had vowed he would never do that. And now he didn't know where she was. Wow, he had really blown it. It's been almost 20 minutes now. Troy grabbed his jacket and rushed out the door to look for her.

It didn't take him long to find her. He could see her at the end of the street, sitting on the curb, crying into her knees. _Oh gosh, what have I done? _Troy started to run down the street, calling her name.

"Gabriella!" Her head popped up at the sound of her name. It was Troy. Gabriella stood up and was immediately in his arms. Troy was kissing her eyes, cheeks, neck and lips over and over again. Tears once again started down Gabriella's face.

"Troy, I'm so sorry. You were right. I shouldn't have contradicted you." Gabriella said in a shaky voice, clinging to Troy.

"No, no, princess. It's my fault. I should have looked at it from your perspective. I'm so sorry." Troy said. Then his lips found hers, and he kissed her passionately. Gabriella shivered, unexpectedly, making Troy pull back. He took his jacket off and put it around her. He kissed her one more time, then put his arm around her while they walked down the street, back to their home.

**(a/n: Okay, so I know I said I wasn't going to do another one in this series, but I have so much fun writing it, that I just had to write another one. This one is going to be the best yet. Please tell me how you like it, and I'm always open for suggestions for later in the story. Please read and review this chapter. Thanks)**


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, Troy and Gabriella were at CIA headquarters by 9:00. It hadn't taken much convincing on Gabriella's part to get Troy to take her with him, considering their "discussion" the night before. Troy had still seemed a bit hesitant, but inside she knew he was glad she was with him.

As they walked through the large silver doors to the CIA building, Gabriella wasn't surprised to see the place buzzing like a beehive. There were people everywhere; computers were beeping, elevators were dinging, and people were chattering here and there. Gabriella just took Troy's hand and stuck close so she wouldn't get lost in the crowd. Troy led the way down the familiar hall to the research room. As they walked into the recognizable room they had spent so much time in on the last case, Gabriella smiled as she saw Audrey Wilson's smiling face.

"Troy, Gabriella, it's wonderful to see you again. I had a feeling I would." Audrey said giving them both a quick hug.

"What can I help you with this time?" she said, sitting back down at her computer.

"Well, Tyler, Alex, Sam and I got a new case, on Monte Malzahn. We need to find out as much as possible about him." Troy explained, pulling up a chair for Gabriella and him.

"Tyler, Alex, and Sam should be here soon." Gabriella commented, while Audrey was typing away at the computer. They sat there watching Audrey as she typed and clicked away at the computer. While they were sitting there, Alex, Sam and Tyler walked in.

"Hey guys. Sorry we're late. There's some bad traffic out on State Street." Sam explained, as the three of them pulled up chairs.

"Well, you're just in time, we're just getting started." Troy said.

For the space of the next two hours, they learned about all of Monte Malzahn's background information and many of the different crimes he'd done. But for the last forty five minutes, they hadn't been able to find anything useful. So everyone was kind of doing their own thing while Audrey was on the computer. Tyler had taken to pacing the floor, Alex was fiddling with his keys, and Sam was staring out into space, lost in his own thoughts. Troy was reading a magazine that he had found in a desk drawer while also acting as a pillow for Gabriella's head, who had dozed off for the past 15 minutes.

"I found something!" Audrey exclaimed triumphantly. Everyone jumped at her sudden outburst, and gathered around her chair.

"Malzahn's most recent crime was murdering a tourist near a river. Apparently Malzahn was found not far from the dead man, and he was carrying a bag of……." Audrey stared at the screen in disbelief.

"…..rocks. That's strange. It doesn't say where he was found, or why he had rocks with him." Audrey said, scanning the screen.

Troy sighed. "Well that's a start. At least we have something. Maybe there's something more to the "rocks" than we think. Maybe he needs them for something." They all nodded in agreement, and then decided to all go get some lunch.

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For the remainder of the afternoon, they continued searching, but came up with nothing more useful than what they had found. Tyler, Alex and Sam left at 5:00, claiming they had some paper work to finish. Once 5:30 came around the clock, Gabriella decided she needed to get home to make dinner.

"Yeah, now that I think about it I'm a little hungry myself." Troy said, stretching his arms and legs.

"Well, you guys go on ahead. I think we've done what we can here. I'll see you guys tomorrow I imagine?" Audrey said while filling out some papers.

"You can count on it. Thanks a million Audrey." Troy said, helping Gabriella with her jacket.

"Yes, thanks some much for all you do Audrey." Gabriella said, giving her a hug goodbye. Troy then opened the door for her, and they walked out to the car hand in hand.

Fifteen minutes later, Troy and Gabriella were walking through their garage door. Gabriella immediately started working on dinner, seeming how Troy kept complaining on how hungry he was. Troy meanwhile, settled down with the newspaper in the living room.

Troy was interrupted reading the sports section when he heard the phone ring in the other room. Gabriella soon came in calling his name.

"Troy, the phone is for you." Gabriella said holding it out for him. Troy took it and said hello.

"Hey Troy, it Alex. Sorry to bother you, but we found some information on Malzahn and we thought you might want it. I would drive over and bring it to you, but Sam is gone with the car."

"No problem man. I can come and get it. You guys are close enough that I can just walk right over. I'll be there in 5 minutes." Troy said standing up and setting his paper aside.

"Okay, thanks Troy. We'll be waiting for you." Troy hung up the phone and went into the kitchen while putting on his jacket.

"I need to go over to Alex's place and pick something up. I'm just going to walk since it's so close. I won't be longer than a half an hour." Troy said walking over to Gabriella who was stirring what looked like soup on the stove.

"Okay, but hurry, I don't want dinner to get cold." She said, putting some spices into the soup.

"Don't worry, I won't be." Troy said showing off a charming smile. He leaned down and kissed Gabriella gently, then walked out of the kitchen and out the front door. The air was fresh and clean, and Troy welcomed the chance to be outside.

He reached Alex's apartment complex quickly and knocked on the door. Alex immediately opened it for him. Tyler was also there, sitting at a table looking over some papers.

Troy's visit didn't take long. Alex explained the papers to him and then Troy was on his way.

As Troy walked down the sidewalk, he noticed to men leaning against a building just outside an alley way, staring at him. He quickly walked past them, but it wasn't long before he felt to grubby hands on his shoulders. He was roughly pushed into an alley, and all Troy would say later that he remembered was being hitting everywhere possible.

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It was 7:45 and Troy still wasn't home. He had been gone for almost an hour and a half. Gabriella was pacing the living room floor, frantic and worried beyond belief. Where could he be? Gabriella knew that he had forgotten his cell phone, because she had tried calling him, but she found it ringing in the bedroom.

Gabriella had had enough waiting. She walked over to the phone and dialed Alex's number.

"Hello?"

"Alex? It's me Gabriella." She said, trying to sound calm.

"Oh hi, what's the matter, you sound worried." Alex said.

"I am, Troy's not home yet. Please tell me that he's still at your place." Gabriella said, in complete hysterics.

"No he's not here. He left about an hour ago." Alex said, just as worried now.

"Alex, where could he be? What if he's been in an accident or something? Oh Alex!" Gabriella cried, tears coming down her face.

"Calm down Gabriella. Everything's going to be just fine. We'll find him. I'll send Sam over to your house, and Tyler and I will go out searching for him. Everything's going to be okay. Lock all your doors and windows just for precautions. Don't let anyone in but Sam. Okay?" Alex asked gently.

Gabriella whimpered, "Okay. Thank you Alex."

"No problem, we'll find him, don't worry. Now you watch for Sam, he'll be there any minute."

"I will bye." Gabriella hung up the phone with a shaky hand then locked the windows and doors. By that time, Sam was already walking up her door steps. When Gabriella opened the door, she felt a rush of relief come over her.

"Oh Sam, I'm so glad you're here." She said flinging her arms around him. Sam let her cry on his shoulder, knowing what she must be going through right now. When Gabriella had seemed to gain control over her tears, she somehow fell asleep on the couch, exhausted from the emotional strain she was having. So Sam called Alex to see if they had had any luck so far.

"No, none so far, but we'll keep looking, he has to turn up somewhere. Is Gabi okay?" Alex asked concerned for her.

Sam looked over at the sleeping form of Gabriella. "Yeah, she's doing better."

"Good, well I'll call soon to update you. Talk to you later." Alex said.

"K, later man." Sam hung up his cell and continued reading the newspaper.

About an hour later Gabriella started stirring on the couch. She sat up and stretched, then her face fell, remembering the current problem.

Suddenly Sam phone starting ringing. He quickly answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hey Sam, we found him. He was lying in an alley. He looks pretty beat up. I'm assuming he was mugged when he was walking home. You probably shouldn't tell Gabriella that, it would just make her worry more. He's unconscious right now, but I'm pretty sure we can bring him around on the way there."

"That's great. We'll be waiting." Sam hung up his phone and turned to look at an anxious Gabriella.

"They found him. They'll be here in a few minutes." Sam said, happily. Gabriella sighed with relief.

"We should probably heat up his dinner and get some hot water and a towel. He's got a few scratches." Sam said a little hesitantly. But Gabriella didn't push him further, but did as he said without question.

Ten long minutes later, Alex and Tyler burst through the door with Troy's arms around their shoulders, keeping him steady, though he was walking by himself.

Gabriella cried in shock at how dreadful he looked. His face was all scratched up and bruised, along with a slightly black eye. His jacket was missing and his shirt was torn in several different spots. He was covered in dirt and blood. And he seemed to wince when he bent forward a little, from all the punches in the stomach he had taken. Gabriella rushed over to him. Troy saw her with weary eyes and gratefully took her in his arms, with Alex and Tyler still standing there in case his legs couldn't hold him any longer.

Gabriella cried into his shoulder, wrapping herself tighter around him. Troy was so weak he couldn't do much but hold her. Soon Gabriella felt his weight leaning down on her, but Alex and Tyler rushed to her rescue. They quickly took hold of him and Gabriella led the way to the bedroom. They laid him gently on the bed. Sam walked in with a bowl of hot water and a rag; in addition he carried a bowl of reheated soup. He set them on the night stand.

"We'll let you take over from here Gabriella. If there's anything you need, call us up." Alex said gently. Gabriella left Troy's side and walked over to the three of them. She gathered them together and hugged them all tightly, kissing each of their cheeks.

"Thank you so much. You don't know what you have done for me." She said letting them go and following them out the door.

"We'd do anything for our little sister." Tyler said warmly, squeezing her shoulder. She smiled after them as they walked through the front door and out to their cars.

Gabriella quickly ran back to Troy and started cleaning up his face. She slowly dabbed at his face with the hot rag. He winced as she did it, his eyes closed. Tears started silently running down her face, as she thought at how lucky she was that he was alive.

Once his face was clean, Troy was more alert, so Gabriella helped him eat the soup she had made. Her spirits lifted when he ate the whole bowl. By this time, Troy was strong enough to sit up. Gabriella helped him take off his now ruined shirt and walk to the bathroom so he could take a shower. When she heard the water turn on, she made the bed, and got into her own pajamas, realizing now how tired she was. She pushed herself to go and finish cleaning the kitchen, then ate a bowl of soup herself. She then walked back to the bedroom and lay down on the bed, sighing. Her eye lids were starting to feel like lead when she heard the shower turn off.

Minutes later, Troy walked out of the bathroom smelling much better, looking much cleaner, and feeling much stronger. He noticed Gabriella's eyes were closed when he saw her fragile figure lying on the bed. He walked over to her and lay down next to her. He stroked her cheek with his finger, making her eyes flitter open. She smiled up at him when she felt that he was feeling much better. Troy smiled back.

"Feeling better, Mr. Bolton? Is there anything I can get you?" Gabriella asked, unsuccessfully hiding the sleepiness in her voice. She started to get up, but Troy took her hand and pulled her back down.

"There is only one thing you can do for me." Troy said softly. His mouth then crashed down on hers, but in a tender way as well. Gabriella smiled into the kiss, glad to have her husband back. She wrapped her arms around his waist, as he pulled her on top of him, his hands lost in her smooth hair.

Troy pulled back, needing to breathe. Then he gently laid Gabriella down on the bed and gazed at her lovingly.

"You know, for a while, I was afraid I wouldn't see you again." Troy said delicately. He was stroking her cheek once more, amazed at how smooth her skin was.

"I was worried that I might have been a widow after only 1 month of marriage." Gabriella said, cuddling up to his steel chest. Troy kissed the top of her head, his lips lingering for a moment.

"Well, you can't get rid of me that easily." Troy said, smiling down at her. Gabriella reached up and kissed him once more, then snuggled down in his protective arms and fell asleep.

**PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!!!!**

**(a/n: okay, there's that one. I'm glad some of you enjoyed the last chapter. I'm really liking this story so far. Tell me, have I had not enough action/adventure, or not enough romance, or does there need to be more of either of them? Please share your thoughts; it's what keeps me going. Please read and review! Thanks.)**


	3. Chapter 3

The sky was a gloomy gray when Troy and Gabriella walked into the CIA building the next morning. Gabriella frowned at the chance of there being a thunderstorm today. She hated them.

Due to Troy still being sore from the night before, they had to walk slower through the organized chaos to get to the elevator. It seemed as though it had taken days by the time they had been bumped, shoved and tripped over to the elevator. They made their way to the 5 floor and were soon in the company of Alex, Tyler, Sam and Audrey once more.

"I'm glad you guys made it here, we were worried you might have gotten lost down there." Audrey said closing the door after them.

"We thought so too." Troy said, easing himself into a chair. Thunder boomed outside as Gabriella plopped down next to him and listened intently as Audrey told them about what she had been researching.

"I decided to look more up on Malzahn's last crime. I think it may have a clue to what we need to find him. It says that a police helicopter had found him near that river. I was thinking, maybe you should find out where this river is. It's possible that Malzahn will try to go back there, for whatever reason he has. He's not known to just give up on one of his plans." Audrey explained to them. A flash of lightening came through the windows.

"That may very well be, Audrey. What police station was it that found him? Maybe they have the case file report with the location on it." Tyler questioned, looking at the other four.

Everyone stayed silent as Audrey typed at the computer. The rain started pouring down as they sat there. Thunder and lightening battled with each other in the sky.

"Here it is. It must be your lucky day, they police station here in Mclean has the file report. Malzahn was sent here to prison, because of the higher security." Audrey said.

"Isn't it just downtown?" Troy inquired. "Yeah, it's on Pareve Avenue, right by the library." Audrey said over another boom of thunder.

"Great, come on you guys, let's go see if they can find the file and then we can start getting somewhere on this case." Troy said, standing up. Gabriella, Alex, Tyler and Sam all followed him out the door. They decided to all ride in Troy and Gabriella's car, so they could save some gas. Gabriella huddled close to Troy under her hood as they walked out into the storm. They were soon making their way towards downtown when Gabriella noticed something.

"Umm, does anybody know anyone with a green Chevy?" she asked nervously, glancing behind them. They all shook their heads.

"Because, there's one behind us, and it's been there all the way from the parking lot." Gabriella said quickly. The four men looked behind and saw what she was talking about. Troy took a sharp turn right. The green car followed in pursuit. Troy took another turn, but to the left this time. Gabriella squinted to see through the heavy rain. The car still followed. Troy pulled back onto the main highway street, but they were stopped at a red light. The green Chevy was one car behind them. When the light turned green, Troy sped the car ahead, so they could get a little ground between them and the green car. It seemed to work for a minute, but only until they Chevy sped up and passed the car that was in front of it. Gabriella started to get frantic.

"What are we going to do?" she said, trying to wipe off her fogged up window.

"We've got to lose them somehow, but there's no where else to go but out of town." Troy said, peeking behind them.

"I think that's our only option." Tyler commented. Troy nodded his head and sped on forward, they were just leaving the town borders when shots started to ring out.

"Gabi get down!" Troy yelled speeding up the car. Tyler and Alex pulled out their guns, since they were next to windows; Sam just ducked down, since there was nothing he could do. Gabriella squeezed her eyes closed, and covered her ears, trying to block out all the shooting and the thunderstorm combined. The car was getting faster and faster. It seemed like it had been hours since she had ducked down. Suddenly, a shot rang out, and then a bang blasted into the dark, stormy sky. Troy swiftly lost control of the car, and Gabriella felt it bumping up and down viciously.

"We've blown a tire!" Alex cried over all the noise. Troy soon got the car to come to a stop and turned off the car. There were no more guns shooting. There was complete silence; all expect the rain that was still pouring outside. Gabriella carefully sat up. When she looked out her window, she almost gasped at the surroundings. It looked as if they were in the middle of nowhere. It looked as though it was a barren land. Only shrubs and bushes could be seen. The rain was still coming down hard, like pelts of rocks. As they sat there in silence, Gabriella's ears started to hear something.

"Does anyone hear a ticking noise?" she asked in a hushed voice. They listened. Then, going on pure instinct and experience, Gabriella started to act.

"Everyone out of the car!" she yelled, opening her door. The other four didn't hesitate, hearing the urgency in her voice. Everyone jumped out and ran away from the car, and only when they were about twenty feet away, was when the car exploded. They all fell to the earth, covering their heads. The flames didn't last long, thanks to the rain. Everyone got up and looked at the site before them. The car was completely destroyed. They were standing in the middle of a desert land. And to top it all off, it was pouring down on them. They were already soaked to the skin. Gabriella wrapped wet self around Troy's wet shirt and cried wet tears onto him. Troy held onto her tightly as they all walked toward the car.

"Must have been a bomb. Someone probably planted it when we were in the office." Tyler said, examining the burnt of pieces of metal.

"I'm sure glad you paid attention Gabriella, or none of us would be standing here right now." Sam said with gratitude in his voice. Gabriella just nodded her head, not caring what _had_ happened, she was only worried about what _was_ happening.

"What are we going to do?" Gabriella said shakily, through her drenched hair. Troy looked at his watch. It was almost 7:00.

"Well…." Troy was cut short when a gun shot blasted past them. They all fell to the ground, guns out. Troy covered Gabriella's body with his, trying to protect her in some way. A bullet bounced off a piece of metal just two feet from Troy and Gabriella. Luckily, Troy caught a glimpse of the attacker. He shot in that direction. The man fell to the ground.

None of them got up quickly, in case of more shooters. But soon they were reassured that there was nobody left. The rain was starting to let up a little, so Troy took out his phone.

But it didn't do much good.

"I don't have any signal. Do any of you?" Troy asked, pocketing his phone. They all tried as well, but were unsuccessful.

"It's probably because of the rain storm; I bet tomorrow morning we'll have reception." Alex stated.

"Well, I guess we're stuck here till morning then." Troy said looking up at the darkening sky. Gabriella let out a small sneeze. The rain had almost stopped, but the wind was picking up. Their wet clothes and the wind combined were starting to chill their bones. They all gathered around close. Troy took Gabriella onto his lap and held her close, trying to make her warmer. Gabriella buried into his chest and closed her eyes. She was exhausted, emotionally and physically.

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Gabriella stretched and smiled as she welcomed the sunshine on her face. The storm had completely past during the night, and now the sun was shining brightly on them. Troy was about fifteen feet away, on his phone. Just like Alex had predicted, they had gained reception this morning. Troy walked over, smiling as well.

"Well, Audrey should be here in about twenty minutes. Then we can all go home and clean up, and then we can finish what we started yesterday." Troy said, stretching his arms as well.

"Happy day." Gabriella said as she wrapped her arms around herself, keeping warm from the morning breeze.

Twenty minutes went by fast, and they were soon driving toward the city. They explained all the details to Audrey, seeming how she had been worried when they never came back yesterday.

Audrey dropped off Tyler, Sam and Alex first and then headed for Troy and Gabriella's home. They thanked Audrey as they climbed out of the car and walked up to their door. Troy unlocked it and they stepped in.

"I call the shower first!" Gabriella said running into their bedroom. Troy laughed and ran after her.

"Oh, I don't think so!" Troy said. Being the taller, stronger and faster one, Troy caught up with Gabriella easily and swung her around to his chest. He pinned her arms to her side, while encircling her with his powerful arms. Gabriella squirmed and giggled, trying to get free. She stopped when she was too tired to keep going. Troy stopped laughing and looked into her eyes smiling slightly. Troy then leaned down and claimed her lips with his. He kissed her fiercely, lovingly, and passionately. Gabriella smiled when Troy started to deepen the kiss by flicking his tongue against her mouth. Gabriella just wrapped her arms tighter around his neck and ruffled his sandy blonde hair.

Gabriella pulled back, breathing heavily. Then she whispered in his ear.

"I still get the shower first." Gabriella then quickly slipped out of his arms and ran into the bathroom and locked the door. She was barely quick enough, because Troy whammed his fists onto the door.

"Gabriella!" he said, but then laughed in retreat and flopped on the bed to wait his turn.

Gabriella smiled in victory.

**PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!**

**(a/n: sorry it took so long for this one. I've been kind of busy and lazy. Please tell me how you liked this one. I'm not getting quite as many reviews on this story compared to the last story I did, so I would like to know what I can do differently. Please share your thoughts)**


	4. Chapter 4

Gabriella squinted her eyes at the bright sunshine that was coming through their bedroom window. The storm had passed completely and had left the city fresh and clean. Gabriella rubbed the sleepiness out of her eyes and turned to the sleeping lump on the other side of her. She inched closer to Troy and rapidly pulled the covers off of him, making him yell.

"Hey! Give a guy a break here!" Troy said pulling the covers back over him. Gabriella giggled and pulled the covers back again. Troy growled and pulled them over him once more. Gabriella took her luck and pulled them off one more time. This time Troy flung himself towards her and pinned her down to the bed. Gabriella screamed for mercy as Troy tickled her furiously.

"Ok, ok...laughlaugh……I give up!" Gabriella said breathlessly. Troy removed himself from on top of her and walked over to the bathroom, laughing. Gabriella pulled her purple bathrobe on and walked to the kitchen to have some breakfast. Just as she was finishing, and putting away the cereal, Troy walked in, showered and in his own blue bathrobe. Butterflies flew in her stomach when he smiled at her. He walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her.

"I believe I haven't properly said good morning to you yet." Troy said gently. He leaned down and kissed her affectionately. Troy pulled back a few minutes later and held her close.

"Good morning to you too." Gabriella said breathlessly. She then eased herself out of his arms and headed for the bathroom to get ready for the day.

Within forty five minutes Troy and Gabriella were driving in their rental car to the CIA building. As they walked in the big brass doors, Gabriella noticed a man, just off to the side. He had dark curly hair, with coal black eyes. He was wearing bleak and boring "blend into the background" types of clothes and an expression that would chill your insides. This disturbing man was watching her intently. Gabriella clutched Troy's hand harder and walked as close as possible to him. Troy noticed her sudden reaction.

"What's the matter?" he asked concerned. Gabriella looked around to the man, but he was gone.

"Oh, nothing, just a bit edgy." She said looking forward, trying to convince herself that she wasn't crazy.

When they walked into Audrey's office, they were bombarded with questions.

"Troy! Where have you been man, we have a conference this morning!"

"We've been waiting forever!"

"The chief is going to kill us!"

"We need to leave now!"

Tyler, Alex, Sam and Audrey shout at him. Troy hit himself.

"I totally forgot all about that!" Troy said checking his watch. Tyler, Alex, Audrey and Sam were already out the door, when Gabriella cleared her throat, feeling slightly forgotten. Troy turned around to her. His eyes widened and a smile curved at the side of his mouth.

"Sorry princess, can you stay here while we're at the meeting?" Troy said walking over to her.

Gabriella sighed. "Yeah, sure, whatever." She said, sitting down in front of Audrey's computer. Troy sighed, and kneeled down in front of her, making her look at him.

"Look, I'm sorry. If I had remembered I would have left you home so you wouldn't have to stay here. I'll make it up to you, I promise, okay?" Troy said lifting her chin to look at him. Gabriella looked into his sky blue eyes. She knew that he meant it, and then nodded her head. Troy kissed her tenderly, and then headed out the door after the others.

Gabriella sighed once more and pulled the big chair back up to the computer. After contemplating what was best to do for the next couple of hours, she decided she could keep searching for anything on where the location of the river is. After about 45 minutes of typing, clicking and reading, Gabriella decided it wasn't as easy as it looked to search on the computer. _How in the world does Audrey do it?_ She sat back in the cushy black chair and stared at the screen, thinking the answer of her problems would somehow appear and make her life easier.

Gabriella kept clicking away at different websites that might have something on it. But she got to a point where she was doing it out of sheer boredom. She sighed as she clicked on one link to the next. She rolled her eyes as she scanned the information for anything useful, feeling doubtful that anything would be there. But something caught her eye. It was a name, The Waseges River in Kenya. Gabriella continued reading to find out more. It continued to say that in 2002 rubies were found _in _this exact river. It also said that recently after they were discovered, a tourist was killed right next to it.

Gabriella all of the sudden felt giddy at what she read. It didn't say Malzahn specifically, but all the pieces seemed to fit perfectly. Gabriella leaned back and smiled in spite of her self. She glanced at her watch, and noted that the others should be coming back very soon. Gabriella sat there listening to the printer work away as it printed off her discovery. But as she sat there, an odd feeling came over her. She felt as if she was being watched. Gabriella tilted her head back slightly and looked out of the corner of her eye. The man she had seen earlier was staring at her through the door window. She knew it was him. Gabriella looked away, feeling very nervous at this point. She turned to take another glance at him but only saw the door window empty. Gabriella quickly got up and walked to the door. She opened it carefully and peeked into the hall. She couldn't see anyone. The hall was bare and empty. Gabriella closed the door and sat back in the chair. She had a bad feeling about what had just happened.

She didn't have long to think about her problems, because Audrey, Tyler, Troy, Alex and Sam all walked noisily into the room. They were all talking about the conference what they did and didn't agree with. Troy smiled when he saw her sitting there and walked over to her, giving her a peck on the lips.

"So, did you fare alright?" he asked pulling up a chair. Gabriella nodded and stretched out her limbs.

"I did make quite the discovery though." She said, taking the printed papers from the printer. Troy took the out held papers from her and read it quickly. Gabriella smiled when she saw his eyes widen.

"Gabriella, you can't be serious? Is this really what I think it is?" Troy said loudly. His comment attracted the others from their conversation and they walked over to him.

"Serious about what, Troy?" Tyler said, reading behind his shoulder. His eyes also widened. He smiled widely.

"Well, you've been quite useful the past hour and half, haven't you Gabi?" Tyler said cheerfully as they others read the papers.

Gabriella smiled brightly. "Well, I do what I can."

They all decided, since Gabriella had found what they had been looking for, that they would take the rest of the day off, packing and getting ready to leave the next day for Kenya. Audrey called the airport and reserved plane tickets for them.

**PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!PLEASE!!!!! I NEED YOUR INPUT! I've only had a few so far and I'm very grateful to those who have. Those of you who don't please do! I'll take criticism, comments, etc. PLEASE!!!!!**

**(a/n: sorry it's taken so long to update this chapter. I've been kind of busy….and lazy. LOL!...umm….please review this chapter. I would really appreciate it! Thanks for reading!)**


	5. Chapter 5

The plane flight over to Kenya was a long and uneventful journey. But for Gabriella, it suited her just fine. She enjoyed seeing the grand splendor of the land below them. The mountain regions were breathtaking with the evergreen trees reaching for the sky. The meadows and fields were covered in wild flowers of all different colors. During their stop in Italy, they enjoyed the welcoming Italian sun, the foreign but tasty Mediterranean food, and the romantic moonlight boat rides that glided through the city. Gabriella promised herself that one day she was coming back to see everything.

After several days and several nights of flying and stopping, they finally reached their destination in Kenya. It was about 2:00 in the afternoon here, and they were all anxious to find the river, so they set out to find it immediately after they had checked in to a hotel.

As Tyler drove their rental car down the long dirt and rock road, the other four admired the impressive view outside. They were in a part of Kenya that was full of mountains and forests. There was wildlife everywhere you looked; deer, zebra's, elephants, and off in the distance they caught a glimpse of a pack of lions. They could even catch a whiff of the strong scent of trees and rushing water.

They were all brought out of their site seeing when Tyler stopped the car in front of a trail. It had a sign on it saying the Waseges River. They all climbed out of the car and headed down the path. Gabriella knew that they were close when she started to hear the sound of rushing water.

Troy, who was leading the way, suddenly stopped in his tracks. He stood there for a moment and then motioned everyone to follow him. He walked off the trail and led the way behind a big boulder. They peeked out from the side of it. Gabriella almost gasped when she saw a man standing at the edge of the river. He was clean shaven, with gray hair, and from what she could see, he had at least one gold tooth. The man was picking up rocks from the river and putting them in a bag. Immediately Gabriella knew who it was without hearing Troy whisper his name.

"It's got to be Malzahn." Troy whispered to the others. They sat their watching him, waiting for the right moment to get him. Suddenly he dropped one of the rocks. To their amazement, it split open with great easy. What was even more remarkable was what was inside the rock. It was the brightest red ruby Gabriella had ever seen. Her eyes widened and she turned to look at her other companions. They had the same look on their faces.

Gabriella turned back to Malzahn, who was completely ignoring the broken rock. _So this is what he wanted them for,_ Gabriella thought to herself._ The rocks had rubies in them. But what would a man who wants to take over the world want with rubies? All he would get out of it was a whole lot of money. _As they continued to watch him in silence, Gabriella noticed something on the ruby. There were thread like hairs poking out on part of the ruby. She had never seen anything like this before. Gabriella was about to poke Troy in the shoulder to ask him, when Malzahn started to move. He was walking away in the opposite direction. Troy quickly made the signal to act. And as quickly as Gabriella blinked, Alex, Troy, Tyler and Sam were all out from behind the rock. Gabriella stayed where she was as Troy called to Malzahn.

"Stop right there, Malzahn." Troy's voice was commanding and composed. Malzahn stopped in his tracks. He turned slowly toward them. He smiled fiercely as he looked at them. When he spook, it was as if the air had stopped.

"Sorry boys, not this time." Everything happened so quickly that it seemed to be a blur to Gabriella. Malzahn had thrown something like a bomb at them; Gabriella guessed it to be some sort of a grenade. It went off immediately, and Gabriella was pushed backwards and into the air from the force that it had. When Gabriella touched the ground something hard hit her head, and then the lights went out.

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"Gabriella…..Gabriella…..please open your eyes…"

Gabriella seemed to hear the voice, but it was very distant. She felt like there was no energy left in her. She could hear soft sobs, off in the distant, as if a little child was lost. Gabriella collected all the power and energy she could and tried to open her eyes. When the light hit her eyes, she could see figures around her. Once her eyes focused, she noticed that they were turned away from her. She recognized the closest as her husband.

"Troy?" she said with a voice she didn't recognize as hers.

Troy turned sharply to her, and she was immediately in his arms. He was crying into her shoulder. She knew that he was the one that she had heard crying.

"I thought I had lost you, again." Troy said through his cries. Gabriella softly reassured him that she was fine. Then, without warning, Troy kissed her hard, trying to convince himself that she was okay. Gabriella clung to him for support and strength, seeming how hers was running short.

When Gabriella turned her head to the other three, she noticed their eyes also looked like they had cried. Troy noticed this, and let her go to hug the other three. She hugged and reassured Alex and Sam, but when she got to Tyler, she almost started crying harder. Tyler cried into her shoulder. Gabriella held him tightly, tears falling down her cheeks as well. Tyler pulled back first, and looked into her teary face. His wasn't any better.

"Don't scare us like that sis, Troy might have killed himself." Tyler said nodding toward his friend who was talking to the other two. Gabriella looked at the handsome man that he was talking about. She smiled and turned back to Tyler. Aside from Troy, he was closer to her than anyone else. She hugged him again and then he helped her up and they walked over to the others, who were inspecting the area. Gabriella was still shaky, but was regaining her strength quickly.

While the men were discussing amongst themselves, Gabriella looked around at the place. It looked awful. It definitely looked like it had been bombed. Debris was everywhere, and the ground looked a coal black. Gabriella looked over to where she had seen Malzahn leave the scene. As she walked over there she noticed something on the ground. It was a scrap piece of paper. She picked it up and read it. On the paper, in very messy handwriting, was written _The Golden Dragon_.

An arm slid around her waist. "What are you looking at darlin'?" Gabriella held out the paper to Troy, explaining where she had found it.

"I found it over there, right where Malzahn ran off." Gabriella said. Tyler, Alex and Sam walked over and studied the paper as well.

"It might be a location." Sam suggested, passing the paper back to Troy.

"That's a possibility. I think we should get back home and have Audrey look it up for us. We need to find out what Malzahn's up to, and quick." Troy said, stashing the paper in his pocket. Gabriella remembered something as she stood their listening.

"Hey, what was on that ruby we saw break from the rock? It looked almost like hair."

Troy walked over to the ruby/rock and picked it up. They all gathered around it, examining it.

"I don't know what it is. But we can find out when we go home." Troy said. They all shook their heads and they head for the trail.

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It was nice to be home, Gabriella thought as they drove to the CIA building. She was exhausted from their long trip home, but it was still nice to be in familiar surroundings. Troy squeezed Gabriella's hand as they walked away from their car and into the big doors, once again.

Audrey was absolutely giddy to see them again. And when she heard what had happened she instantly started to search on _The Golden Dragon_. Within minutes she had found out exactly what they needed to find.

"It's a market store inn Beijing. Apparently it was a big success." Audrey said scanning the screen.

"That's great. Where in Beijing is it?" Alex said, voicing everyone else's thoughts.

"Ummm…….it doesn't say. It's been out of business for awhile."

"Wait, I thought you said it had been a success?" Tyler asked confused.

"Yeah well, it was in its hay day." Audrey explained. Aside from the typing of the keyboard, they sat in silence lost in their thoughts, until Troy remembered something.

"Audrey, do you know if there are any jewel experts in town? We have some questions to ask him." Troy asked her.

"As a matter a fact, I do. There's one just down the block. It's called Gem Shop." Audrey said, still typing.

"Great thanks, come on guys, let's go figure out this ruby problem." Troy said leading the way out.

In less than ten minutes they were standing inside the tiny little shop, waiting while a little man was examining the ruby they had found.

"Ah yes, these little threadlike hairs are called rutile. It contains a mineral called titanium dioxide. It's what we use to tell the difference between fake and real jewels. This rutile is also used for weapon making sometimes." The man said, perfectly calm.

They all just stared at the man. Then they glanced at each other. Not wanting to talk in front of the man, they expressed their thanks, and then left with the ruby. Once inside their car, they exploded.

"This must be why he wants them!"

"What kind of weapon is he making?"

"Maybe he just wants the rubies for money?!"

"QUIET!" Troy yelled. Everyone became silent at once. Troy continued to drive as he spoke to them.

"We need to remain calm. We don't know what he's up to, but we're going to find out." Troy said.

"And how do you propose we do that?" Sam asked, slightly annoyed.

Troy looked at them all. "We're going to Beijing."

**(a/n: I'm sooooo sorry it's taken me so long to update. I've been extremely busy. Please tell me how you like this chapter. It's going to start getting more intense as it goes, and I'm excited to right it. Please read and review! Thanks)**


	6. Chapter 6

The next day Gabriella found herself packing once again, except this time for their trip to Beijing. She felt like she was packing her whole closet. Troy had the feeling that they were going to be there until this whole thing was done, so he told her to pack more than usual.

Their flight was scheduled for 6:00 pm, so Tyler, Sam and Alex all met at Troy and Gabriella's house at 4:30. Gabriella was in the middle of ironing a shirt for Troy when the doorbell rang.

"Hey guys! Come in." Gabriella said, opening the door for the three men on the porch. The greeted her warmly and walked in.

"I'm still packing, so you can go ahead and make yourselves at home. I'll just be in the room. Troy left to get some dinner, so he should be here soon." Gabriella added as she headed down the hall.

She was just zipping up her suitcase when Troy got home. He had bought Chinese, celebrating their trip. They all ate vigorously and loaded everything in the car and headed to the airport.

They got to the airport on time, and went through all the security, and at 5:45 they were boarding the plane. They got seated comfortably, and visited for awhile. Soon, they were quiet and dozing off. Gabriella drifted away comfortably on Troy's shoulder, who, in turn, laid his head on hers and fell asleep as well.

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It took a couple of day's for them to reach their destination, and when they finally did reach Beijing, it was 9:00 at night. They were all exhausted. They retrieved their luggage, and rode a taxi to their hotel. When Troy and Gabriella reached their room, Troy just crashed onto the bed. Gabriella, who was just as tired, went ahead and took care of their luggage, knowing that they would not't have time in the morning.

As she hung things up in the closet, she heard Troy move in the other room. _He must be getting into bed, _Gabriella thought as she folded some of his jean pants. But she was proved wrong when a strong pair of arms went around her waist from behind. She leaned back into Troy's chest and closed her eyes, enjoying his closeness. He smelled faintly of her favorite cologne of his. She could feel his warm breath on her neck as his head drew near to her. Gabriella sighed as Troy laid soft kisses down her jaw and neck. An involuntary giggle escaped her lips when he kissed a particularly ticklish spot. Gabriella smiled as she looked up at the man behind her. He was smiling her smile. It was the almost boyish, but utterly debonair smile. Just in that look, she knew he loved her more than life. In that single moment, Gabriella was more grateful to have him in her life than another other time in her life.

Troy leaned down and captured her perfect, soft lips. He could feel her respond as he slowly kissed her more ardently. He continued to kiss her as he pulled the jeans from her hands and lifted her in his arms and walked to the bed. He laid her ever so gently on top of the sky blue bedspread. He gazed at her beautiful face. He thought of how much he loved her. He loved how she smelled of vanilla all the time. He loved how she smiled so brightly, even in the worst of times. He loved how she fit so perfectly against him, as if they were one. To him, she was the best thing that happened to him. She completed him. She brought out the best in him so easily; you'd think she could control him. She knew how to comfort him. She knew how to love and care for him. She knew how to make him smile when he was having a bad day. It all came down to one thing to him. She was perfect for him.

Troy tenderly stroked her cheek, smiling softly at her.

"You're incredible. Did you know that?" Troy said quietly. Gabriella smiled at his compliment.

"No, I was too busy thinking how perfect you are." Gabriella said, inching closer to him for another kiss. Troy grinned at the motion and obliged her by leaning in as well and firmly kissing her. He gathered her tightly to his chest as she firmly snuggled her head into the crook of his neck.

All thoughts were forgotten about the coming day as they lay there in a bit of heaven.

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The next day came a little brighter than the past weekdays had. Gabriella felt refreshed from her sleep and was ready to get down to business. She quickly showered and got dressed into some comfortable blue jeans, a snug fitting light yellow blouse, and a brown jacket. She then headed downstairs and ate some breakfast with Tyler and Sam in the hotel restaurant while Troy was still getting ready.

Gabriella was just finishing her juice off when Troy and Alex came down together; both looking energized and ready to go.

"Well, if we're all ready to go, I'll give you the run down." Troy explained as they walked up to them.

"I think we should split up into two different groups. Alex and Sam will go together and Tyler, Gabriella and I will go. I think we'll be able to cover a lot more ground that way. If either of us finds it you can call my cell or Alex's. Is everything clear enough?"

Everyone nodded in agreement. They walked outside together, but then took two separate taxis. Alex and Sam in one and Tyler, Troy and Gabriella in the other.

Gabriella slid into the taxi after Troy and then Tyler followed, closing the door.

"Where too?" the taxi driver asked in a Chinese- English accent.

They all looked at each other, not knowing where to start. So Troy took the lead and spoke up.

"How about just the center of the city?"

"You got it." The driver said and drove away from the curb, into the mob of traffic.

"Keep your eyes peeled for any sign of the restaurant." Troy said as they were passing many stores and shops.

Gabriella looked through the window and admired the chaotic city all around them. There were people everywhere. Many people had stands outside, selling all kinds of food and items. There was steam coming from many different restaurants, signs of hot cooking going on. There was laundry hanging from apartments up above. The sun was shining through the few clouds that were in the bright blue sky. It had rained the night before, so the roads were still sodden down with water. In a way the city seemed to be sparkling. This is was one way Gabriella had always wanted to see it.

"Seen anything yet?" Tyler said suddenly, snapping Gabriella out of her daydream of the city.

"Nope, not yet." She answered quickly, focusing back on what they were supposed to be doing.

They were soon to their destination, and got out of the taxi. Troy paid the driver and then led the way down the street. They looked at every sign and door that they passed, asking people as they went if they knew where the Golden Dragon was. Nobody seemed to even know what it was, let alone where the location was. At around 3:00 all three of them seemed to think it was a lost cause. They had searched the whole south side of the city, knowing that Sam and Alex were searching the north end, and still hadn't come up with anything. Feeling tired and frustrated they stopped at a small park towards the border of the city. They all sat in silence, not knowing what to do next.

"How in the world are we supposed to find this place? Not a single person we've talked to had even known what it is. Besides my feet aren't going to last much longer." Gabriella complained while rubbing her left foot. Troy put his arm around her and sighed.

"I don't know what we should do. I'm just as puzzled as you are. I don't understand how this can end up being a dead end." Troy said, staring up at the trees, trying to get some sort of inspiration.

Tyler rubbed the back of his neck and sighed as well. "Well, how about we search this area a little more and then just call it quits for the day. Then by the time we get back it will be almost dark and we can get some dinner, I'm starved." Gabriella giggled as his stomach made a gurgling noise.

"I agree, let's give it one more shot and then we'll head back. Let me call Alex real quick and let him know our plans and then we'll start off." Troy said pulling out his cell phone.

Troy quickly spoke to Alex and then helped Gabriella up on her aching feet and held her hand as they followed Tyler out of the park and towards some more people. They all took a separate person and starting asking the questions they had all day, in the best Chinese they could.

Gabriella went up to a friendly looking elderly man who was watering his flowers.

"Excuse me sir, can I ask you a question?" Gabriella said in broken Chinese. The man looked up and smiled at her, then nodded.

"Have you ever heard of the Golden Dragon?" she continued. The man stood there for a second thinking, and then nodded his head in approval. Gabriella's insides tingled with excitement. Maybe some luck would come.

"Do you know where it is?" she asked almost too quickly. The man pointed left and then started to say something, but never got to say. A familiar sound rang through the air. The old man fell to the ground in a heap. He had been shot. Gabriella screamed.

"TROY! TYLER!" Gabriella screamed as she fell to the ground to protect herself. Troy and Tyler had both heard the shot and immediately started to act. Troy ran to Gabriella as 3 more shots blasted through the air. Tyler leaned behind a building and shot in the direction of the noise. Troy covered Gabriella with his body as he shot as well. He caught a quick glimpse of the shooter as he pulled off two more shots. The man started to move. Troy signaled to Tyler and then grabbed Gabriella as they started to run. Bullets flew everywhere from both directions, barely missing them. Gabriella's heart was pumping fast as they continued to run.

It seemed like an eternity before the shooting and running seemed to stop. The sun was almost behind the mountain now, and Gabriella had no idea where they were. It seemed like they were in the outskirts of town, where nobody lived or worked. They stopped by a rundown building and sat down. Gabriella grabbed onto Troy and held him tight, trying to even her breath and heart. Troy squeezed her close, warming her cold body.

"That was cutting it close, if you ask me." Tyler said, putting his gun in his jacket.

"No kidding." Troy said quietly, rocking Gabriella in his arms. They sat there for a while, lost in thought. Then something caught Tyler's eye.

"Hey, what does that sign say over there?" Tyler asked, focusing his eyes. Troy and Gabriella stared at the sign on the building across the street.

"It almost looks like…" Troy said. "….The Golden Dragon." Gabriella finished. It was in Chinese, but they had had Audrey have the English version put into Chinese for them.

"We did it! We found it!" Tyler exclaimed. Troy and Gabriella both shushed him. He stopped immediately, blushing a bit.

"If that really is it, there's likely to be people in there, and we can't let them know that we're out here." Troy said, standing up. They walked over closer to building.

"Yep, that's definitely it." Troy said confirming the letters on the sign.

"Well, I think we should continue this tomorrow, I'm exhausted." Gabriella said walking up behind Troy and Tyler. Tyler slung his arm around her shoulders, smiling.

"I agree, and I'm still hungry. And besides, I'm sure Alex and Sam will want to be part of the fun." Tyler said turning around with Gabriella. Troy laughed and then put his arm around Gabriella's waist, joining the link.

"Oh yes, this is tons of fun." They all walked happily down the road, arm in arm, finally satisfied with the day they had had.

**(a/n: I'm sooooo sorry it's been so long. I've been way too busy to do even a little bit of writing. But I'm hoping to get another chapter in before school starts back on Thursday, I'll just have to see how my homework goes. Anyways, I hope you like this chapter. I really enjoyed writing it. The story should get more intense from here on out, at least I hope. And I'll try to get a little more romance in. Thanks for reading! Please read and review.)**


	7. Chapter 7

The next day Troy, Tyler, Sam, Alex, and Gabriella all headed back to The Golden Dragon. They parked a few blocks away so they didn't bring more attention to themselves.

As they walked up to the building, Gabriella took a closer look at the old and crumbling building.

It was very tall and seemed to have holes crumbling in the walls towards the top. The sign was faded and falling off. There was a sheet in the doorway, replacing what should have been a glamorous and huge door. The glass in the windows was all broken and shattered. Dust seemed to be everywhere as they walked inside. There were chairs strewn all along the room, as well as tables. It was a fairly big room and one could tell it had been a especially nice place to eat, because of the elegant chandeliers on the ceiling. Cobwebs covered every inch of the ceiling, making Gabriella shudder.

Suddenly a noise rang through their ears. They all stopped where they were and listened. It was a muffled voice, and it seemed to be coming from below them.

Troy motioned to all of them and put a finger to his lips as he led the way into the kitchen, making sure to not step on anything. As they walked in, there was a door wide open and a light shining through. Creeping carefully over to it, they listened in to what was being said, which wasn't very hard since they were talking so loud.

"They need to be done within the next week! It will be too late by then!" said a very angry man.

"We are doing our best boss, but it's not exactly easy making a bomb that is supposed to destroy an entire city." said a soft, intimidated man.

Troy, Gabriella, Alex, Tyler and Sam all looked at each other wide eyed. It was this that Malzahn wanted. He didn't want the rubies; he was using them to make a bomb.

"I DON'T CARE! I want them by Wednesday, or you get nothing!" A loud thump rang out, most likely from Malzahn hitting a table.

"Okay, okay, they will be ready," whimpered the other man.

"Good. I will be back then to have them picked up." Footsteps were then heard, and they were coming right towards the stairs! Troy and the others made a run for it, catching the attention of whoever was coming up the stairs.

"Hey! Someone's up here, quick!" shouted a man. Gun shots immediately followed, making them run harder. When they got outside, Alex, Tyler and Sam ran for cover and pulled their guns out. But Troy grabbed Gabriella and ran for the building next door.



"You stay here. You should be safer here. I will come back and get you once we shake these guys off. But do not move until then! Okay?" Troy looked at her with intense, but pleading eyes. Gabriella was about to object, but didn't want to take up time.

"Ok, but be careful please," she said quietly. Troy leaned down and kissed her hard and quick and then ran back out. Gabriella watched him disappear and sunk to the floor. She could hear shots all around. She covered her ears and closed her eyes tightly. She prayed with all her heart that Alex, Tyler, Sam and especially Troy, would be okay. Suddenly, she felt four hands grab her roughly. She looked up into some of the scariest faces she had ever seen.

"Looks like someone got lost," said the bigger one. They lifted her up and started dragging her out the back door. She began to scream for Troy, but guns were still firing so her cries landed on deaf ears. They pulled her to a big truck, and Gabriella was about to yell for Troy again, when suddenly all the lights went out.

**(a/n: once again, I am very sorry it has taken me so long to update. But I am trying to get better. Thank you to all who have read so far. It has been very encouraging. Please review!)**


	8. Chapter 8

Troy peeked around the fence, and looked around. The shooters seemed to have fled. He motioned for Sam across street that everything seemed clear. Troy stood up and started walking towards Sam, Alex and Tyler doing the same.

"Wow, we are having WAY too many close calls here." Tyler said in relief.

"I know. I wonder where they all went to so quickly. They just suddenly stopped shooting." asked Sam.

Troy looked around the area for anyone lingering, and then he remembered something.

"I wonder why Gabriella hasn't come out yet." Troy whispered to himself.

"What do you mean? She wasn't with you?" Alex asked.

Troy started walking toward the building he had left her in quickly. Tyler, Alex and Sam followed close behind.

"Gabriella!!GABRIELLA!" Troy yelled. He burst through the door and stopped when she wasn't where he left her.

"Oh no." Troy said quietly. They all searched the building, yelling her name.

"She's not here Troy! Where could she have gone?" Alex said panting down the stairs.

Then Sam noticed something. "The back door is wide open. Let's look out there." The all ran out the door. Nothing was there, and Troy started to panic.

"Why did I leave her? I never should have left her alone!" Troy said shaking his head.

"Wait! Isn't this her bracelet?" Tyler said bending down to the ground. They all gathered around the broken silver charm bracelet that Gabriella always wore. Troy picked it up.

"Malzahn. He did this. I know he did. Gabi wouldn't have just walked off without telling us." The other three nodded in agreement.

"We have to find out where they took her and why." Troy said with a serious, yet worried voice.

"Ok, I think we should go back into the Golden Dragon and see if we can figure out where they might have gone next." Tyler suggested.

"Good idea. Let's go." They all followed Troy across the street and into the Golden Dragon.

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Gabriella ached all over, and she couldn't figure out why. Her head was throbbing from the blow that had been given to her. She thought about Troy and the others, and the fright they must be feeling right now. She wanted to curl up and cry, but she knew that wasn't an option right now. She had to get out of here.



She slowly opened her eyes, but it didn't do much good. It was completely dark. It was then that she noticed her hands and feet were bound, and her mouth gagged. Luckily, they hadn't blindfolded her.

She looked around her, trying to find some sort of light source. Then she detected a small sliver of light coming from behind something on the ground. _I bet it's a door_, she thought.

Gabriella started to wriggle around, and scoot across the floor somehow. Her eyes had adjusted to the darkness, and could see outlines of things around her. She needed to get her hands untied, and quick.

She started to wriggle her hands in place, to try and loosen the cloth around them. Her hands were quite small, so if she could get enough leeway, she could get them free.

After what seemed an eternity, but really only fifteen minutes, Gabriella managed to free her sore hands and then untied her feet and took the gag out. She carefully got to her feet, wobbled for a second, and then tiptoed over to the light. She was right, it was a door. And there were voices coming from the other side. She leaned on the door crack and strained to listen.

"All we want to know is how you're going to do it boss." Said a rough man's voice. He didn't sound too happy.

Another answered. It was Malzahn. "I'll tell you how we're going to do it. First we're going to bomb Beijing, then Moscow, Tokyo, London, Paris, and then Washington D.C. It's as simple as that."

Gabriella had to suppress a gasp. So this was what it all came down to. He was making the bombs so he could take out the major cities in the world. This can't be good.

"When do you plan on bombing Beijing?"

There was silence before Malzahn answered.

"Tonight. 11:59. Tiananmen Square in the tower." Malzahn said flatly. His voice was as serious as ever.

Gabriella stood back from the door. She had to get out of here, and fast. She started feeling around the floor for a latch, or a lock, some sort of door that could lead out of this place.

She was back in a corner when she found something. An air vent, perfect. The door was rusted, so it came off easily. And lucky she was slender, or else she wouldn't have fit. She started scooting through it and had to keep in squeals from all the cobwebs and dust. At last she came to another opening and climbed through it. She landed on her feet and walked out of the room. It was nice she hadn't run into any of Malzahn's men.

She spoke too soon. As she walked into the hall, three men at the end of it, snapped around and looked at her with shocked faces. Gabriella just stared right back. _Oh crap._

"Sorry boys, but I really can't stay any longer. But it was nice chatting." With that, Gabriella turned and darted down the hall and around the corner, running for her life.

**(a/n: Well, here's the next one. Sorry it's taken long. I'm working on the next one though. So hold tight. Please review. Thanks for reading!)**


	9. Chapter 9

Troy, Tyler, Alex and Sam all ran into the Golden Dragon and hurried down the stairs to the abandoned hideout. They searched for anything and everything they could find on where Malzahn might be now.

After searching for about a half an hour, Troy sat down and looked around desperately. Where could they have taken her? He needed to find Gabriella, his **life** depended on it.

"Hey! What's this door for?" Tyler said looking at the door in the wall. The others walked over behind him. Besides the door knob, the door was hard to see. Alex grabbed the knob, twisted it, and pulled it. But instead of opening a door, the knob pulled out a drawer. Inside the drawer were a bunch of papers. Troy reached in and grabbed them.

They were plans; plans to bomb Beijing.

After scanning all the papers thoroughly, they could not find a specific time or date of when each city would be bombed. So they came to the conclusion that they should go to Tiananmen Square as quickly as possible, and see what they could find. Reluctantly, Troy agreed, but his worry for Gabriella was growing greater as time went by.

"Maybe that's where they've taken her Troy," Sam offered as they walked out the building. Troy sighed.

"Yeah, maybe."

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Gabriella's legs felt as if they would fall out from under her. She had been running for what seemed a lifetime. She had run out the building and made her way onto the busy Chinese street.

Gabriella looked behind her. The men were gone. She had finally lost them. She sighed in relief and sat down against a building. She put her hands between her legs and took a few minutes to catch her breath. She needed to find Troy and the other boys. She wanted to be held by her husband again. Gabriella looked at her watch, it was 9:50. There was no time to try and find them. She had to try and figure out a way to stop Malzahn and the bomb, pronto.

Standing up, she made her way to the street and found a taxi. She climbed in and told the driver where to go. And in a half an hour she had reached the square. She paid the driver and walked out onto the bustling street. She pulled her hood over her head and started walking.

The city at night was a wonder. There were people everywhere. Lights flashed above your head. The smell of many different foods wafted in the air. And the noise was ringing in your head.

Gabriella stood in awe for a moment, but then focused herself on her mission. The tower of Tiananmen Square stood just across the street. She quickly crossed over to it and walked inside, only to find that the building was packed with people. How in the world was she supposed to find this bomb? And where would it be?

_Where would the most secure and secret place to put a bomb? _Gabriella thought to herself.

_The basement._

Ha! Why hadn't she thought of that before? She pushed her way to the elevator, and crammed in the open door.

Meanwhile, Troy, Alex, Sam, and Tyler had just walked through the entrance of the tower. When they saw how packed it was, the hope inside of them dimmed a little. How in the world are they going to find the bomb in here? And where could Gabriella be?

"Well, we might as well just start from the bottom and work our way up," Alex suggested. So they quickly made their way to the elevator and headed for the basement.

They soon entered the considerably cooler and muggy basement floor and started to walk around. There were many doors in the hall to their left. All of which were identical. To the right of them was a large open room. It was filled with pipes, boxes and crates. It was quiet, and their footsteps were the only thing they could hear until . . .

"_Click"_

"Did you hear that?" Tyler whispered as they froze in their spots. Troy pulled out his gun, and the other three followed suit. He motioned for them to spread out.

"_Click, Clack"_

It was coming from the far left corner. Troy quietly made his way over there. Suddenly there was a tiny squeaking sound, almost as if someone was sneezing. And it was much too feminine to be Malzahn, Troy noted. Tyler glanced from his position over at Troy, who looked just as confused. They started to move closer and soon were right behind the large pile of boxes the noise had been coming from.

With guns at the ready, on the count of three, they jumped around the corner.

"AHHHHH!!"

"Gabriella!?" The four men shouted.

"Troy! Boys!" She dashed over to them, and was soon grabbed by four pairs of arms; Troy's being the closest and tightest.

"We were so worried!"

"Are you alright? Did they hurt you?"

"What happened?" Were the questions of worry from Tyler, Alex, and Sam. But Troy just looked at her, tears falling down his face. Oh how he just wanted to hold and kiss her right now, to know that he really had her here with him. But something in her eyes told him it would have to wait.

She looked around at the others and smiled, glad to be back with them.

"I will answer all questions, but AFTER we figure this all out. First, I found out Malzahn is planning to bomb . . ."

"We know, he plans to bomb Beijing." Sam interjected quickly.

"No, they plan to bomb ALL the major cities of the world, starting with Beijing. I heard Malzahn talk about it."

They all looked at her with shock.

"And he's doing it tonight. 11:59, here in the basement of this tower. That's why I'm here. I got away and decided it was more important to save the city rather then find you." Gabriella explained, eyeing Troy.

He looked at her and sighed, "And you did the right thing. Now we just need to find this bomb."

Suddenly there was ding, and angry voices rang through the air. They were no longer alone.

**(a/n: I am SOOOO Sorry!!! Wow, it's been a really long time. I hope you will forgive me! But here it is! Sorry the reunion scene wasn't as big, but i'm planning something more touching for Troy and Gabriella, so don't worry. Tell me what you think! thanks!)**


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